Speeding up the cycling process?

[goldfishlover101]

I just started cycling my 20 gallon aquarium today. I have heard that you can take things like gravel, plants, decorations etc. from another fish tank if you have one and put it in the cycling tank and it will speed it up. Well i have a 5 gallon betta tank which is heated at 80 degrees. I've had the talk for a while now, can i use one of the decorations from the 5 gal and put it in the 20 gal to speed up the process of cycling? I looked closely at the decorations and they have this stuff on them, it's not green and is not algae but it looks like some kind of bacteria...i can't really explain it. Would it be safe to transfer the decoration to my 20 gal or should i not?

(I'm doing a fishless cycling with ammonia)

 

[HN1]

You can transfer the decoration. Depending on the surface type and area, it may or may not help but it shouldn't hurt anything either. Chances are what you are seeing is not bacteria. It's not visible to the naked eye. Transfering a small portion of your filter media may help more. Good luck and good job for cycling fishless!

 

[goldfishlover101]

My 5 gallon has a different brand of filter than my 20 gallon so i cannot put the filter media from my 5 gal into my 20 gal. Would it help if i just put the filter media from my 5 gallon into the 20 gallon and let it sit in the water, would that help? Also, if i put the filter media into the tank, when it's done cycling, can i take it out?

 

[HN1]

You don't want to completely remove the media from your 5G or you will most likely cause a cycle to commence.

Yes, but know that you'll be removing some bacteria with it.

 

[goldfishlover101]

Oh ok, thank you. I didn't remove all of the filter media because i didn't want to ruin the cycle in my betta's tank but i put some into the 20 gallon. I also got a little bit of gravel and put it in a nylon stocking and put the nylon stocking into the 20 gallon. Would that help too? When the cycling process is finished, when i remove the nylon stocking and filter media, will they do any harm even if they have some bacteria on them?

 

[HN1]

The gravel in the stocking is a very good idea and should help. Removing them when the cycle is complete should not do any harm since the new filter's media, new gravel, etc. should be colonized at that point.

 

[goldfishlover101]

Okay, now i just wish for the best! I'm not sure how much bacteria is on the filter media and gravel but my 5G is kept constantly at 80 degrees F for my betta and heard that bacteria grows faster when it's warm so it should help.

 

[thincat]

Are you cycling a FW or a SW tank?

 

[goldfishlover101]

I'm cycling a freshwater tank.

 

[thincat]

sounds like a plan. You are going to have to test and that will tell you when it is safe to continue.
Good luck and we might see you on the SW side.